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| The IVF Program > Success Rates |
 In reading program brochures or browsing the internet, couples with infertility are often exposed to a bewildering assortment of graphs, tables and numbers, especially regarding "success rates." and individual assisted reproductive technology (ART) "statistics." The educated patient must be able to decipher meaningful data from these numbers; a clear understanding of what factors may influence any individual patient's outcome for success is essential. Many factors may affect not only the choice of a couple's fertility program, but also their specific chances of achieving the ultimate goal -- a baby.
It is important to keep in mind that each ART program uses its own guidelines for patient selection, including the initial acceptance in, or rejection from, the program. Examples include clinics that use ART to treat women who would likely become pregnant with simpler, less expensive treatment or clinics that have an early age cut-off and do not treat older women. These entry or exclusion criteria significantly affect the outcome of treatment. Program statistics are mainly useful in the context of a discussion with a reproductive endocrinologist, as any specific patient's chances of conception may be decreased or increased by individual factors, especially the medical history.
Success Factors
There is little doubt that the woman's age at the time of treatment is one of the most significant and predictable factors for success with ART. As age increases, a significant decline in pregnancy rates is seen. More than likely, this is a direct consequence of a decline in oocyte (egg) quality as the ovaries age.
Embryo quality is yet another factor which may influence pregnancy rate. As a general rule, the better the quality of the embryos replaced, the higher the chance that at least one will implant in the uterus. Embryo quality at GENESIS is assessed using the morphological criteria of cell (blastomere) number, size and shape of the blastomeres, as well as the presence of any cellular fragmentation.
The prevention of high order pregnancies (triplets or more) is a complication of ART that we take very seriously at GENESIS. As such, we make every effort to follow the guidelines issued by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) to limit the number of embryos transferred. The statistics reported below for 2004 demonstrate our success in achieving pregnancy rates that are well above national mean pregnancy rates while keeping high order multiple rates significantly below national mean rates.
| IVF and IVF with ICSI |
| Calendar Year 2006 |
| Age: |
#ER |
#ET |
#Pregnancies |
CPR/ER |
CPR/ET |
| <35 |
163 |
155 |
93 |
57% |
60% |
| 35-37 |
79 |
76 |
31 |
39% |
41% |
| 38-40 |
60 |
57 |
19 |
32% |
33% |
| 41-42 |
21 |
19 |
3 |
14% |
16% |
| Donor Egg |
25 |
22 |
12 |
48% |
55% |
| Totals |
348 |
329 |
158 |
45% |
48% |
CPR - Clinical Pregnancy Rate
ER - Egg Retrieval
ET - Embryo Transfer
This data has yet to be submitted to SART. Live birth data is not available at this time for 2006. A comparison of clinic success rates may not be meaningful because patient medical characteristics and treatment approaches may vary from clinic to clinic.
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